Forum Website Owner Gets Suspended Jail Term

[OldenAtwoody]

Website owner gets suspended jail term sex-scene pictures posted

BANGKOK: -- The owner of a message-board website got a suspended one-year jail term and a fine of Bt20,000 after a user posted sex-scene pictures of a Thai woman on his site.

The Criminal Court found Pongwit Singsun 23, guilty of violations of the Computer-Related Crimes Act for allowing his website to be used to damage another person's reputation.

Public prosecutors charged that the crime took place from October 6 to November 30.

A user posted the sex-scene pictures of a woman in Nakhon Sawan, who alerted police.

The court initially sentenced Pongwit to years and fine of Bt40,000 but commuted the penalties by half after he pleaded guilty.

The court later suspend the one-year jail term and put him on probation for two years during which he must report to probation officials for eight times. He is also required to carry out social service for 48 hours.

-- The Nation 2009-07-24

One would think the young lady, upon identifying herself on the site, would know the photographer's identity intimately.

[dwain]

Should have hosted in the Caymans... or Russia. I'm surprised the Thai peace officers were tech savvy enough to hunt the owner down. Figure they would be too busy checking frang ID's at local 711's

[mazd2]

The internet is just another form of media to be controlled by govt. We're giving govts too much freedom all round the world at the moment with regard to media censorship. This is a universal truth.

[Highway311]

This is shamefull, the person serving time should be the person who posted not the forum people...

Lets see, if I buy paper and a pen, then use those to write a book that breaks Thai law, is it me or the pen and paper manufactures that go to jail????

Also why stop at the forum owner? What about the owner of the ISP that allowed him to upload the images, the computer manufactor that built the computer he used, the camera company of the camera he used, and so on?

The admin has the responsibility for the Forum! He is responsible for his forum!

[Imkah]

I really think it's time for all site owners, publishers. ISPs and internet users as a whole to come together and put a petition forth to improve the law. Thailand can never be any kind of IT hub with these draconian laws.

The only hub Thailand is, is a hub of confusion, bad legislation and corrupt law enforcement.

I truly agree! and let us try to move this topic onto a slightly higher level than: "Oh here the stupid Government goes again" like: how will the imprints of these laws affect the future of Thailand, our chosen place to live - and the development of access to all these IT-tools we are learning to not be able to live without. And WHAT should the rules (if any) be for entering cyberspace. I would suggest that a tie is optional, no white tennis-sox and no: just because they are low-cut doesn't make you less of a geek. And without Corean jeans you are definitely OUT.

Jokes apart. The guy got what he deserved - or didn't. So what? He doesn't do any time. Let's talk about what matters, the consequences.

[bobright]

Most of you are talking codswallop. The website owner definitely has some liability, especially if the picture was allowed to remain for that long, and especially if he left it online after receiving a complaint. And it's highly likely she wasn't aware of its existence on his forum for the first few weeks.

I'll give you the *exact* scenario, as I've faced it many years ago when the Internet in the UK was quite young, and the debate on content on newsgroup servers arose (this group also included Demon and Compuserve for those from the time).

Pretty much the newsgroups were uncensored. And i may add, a hive of questionable content. It was made clear to us (the ISP's operating at the time) that if we made an attempt to clean up the groups, we would also become liable for the entire content - that was 60k plus groups at the time - several million messages a day.

Now, such forums as TV have "moderators" - a group of hardworking individuals who make sure no smutt or questionable content hits the site.

But if it does.....then the site owners are responsible.

Just thought i'd throw that one in.

So if a grafitty sprayer spray's some bad words on a housewall during the night, the house owner get caught?

the nsn thread today speaks of an anti-gay activist and ex-nominated ( whatever that means ) parliamentarian law professor resigning from his soon to be professorship in new york university because of the gay lesbian protests in the said university. the question here is this - should the dean of the law school in new york who hired the foreign professor resign too besides the singaporean professor? from singapore's perspective, what you think the university of singapore would do? arrest all the protesting students too? anyone? including the protest placard makers?

[Ijustwannateach]

I would tend to think based on the length the material was posted and the fact that a complaint was made by the woman in the video that she had approached the website owner and found him uncooperative/absent/unsympathetic and unwilling/unavailable to take the material down, and that's why it became a criminal case against the owner.

[ExoticMatter]

I'm sure most laws are made by people who haven't got a clue about the inner workings of computers, engineering economics etc. Politicians internationally seem to be unconnected with the real world (thats why they have secretive thinktanks). They are merely puppets (and fall guys) for the new world order.

Why do the most important government jobs need no qualifications at all?

As for forum web hosts and mods (nice one all of you) no-ones perfect and mistakes do happen and I totally respect what you do. I wonder if this is yet another nail in the freedom of speech coffin (started with 911 of course).

[zzaa09]

Thats good news for him. Why ruin this young mans life by throwing him inside? I love Thailand and I am pleased that they have chosen to recognize this mans potential and given him a second chance. Lets just hope he has the manpower to police his forum more stringently.

This kind of thing will kill off forums and any oportunity for ordinary people to make their views public without them being censored first - of course offensive mateiral should be taken down by the site manager whenever it is reported however if site managers are expectedt to police every post before it is published then the days of free forums like this are numbered. This isnt a gripe at Thailand - half the countries of the world are trying to introduce things like this either at the insistance of people who are paranoid about anything sexual, because governments dont like public criticism or because some big corporate business like sony are trying to get their civil rights enforced by criminal law. All these are going to add to the cost to us of the internet.

Well state, my friend.

[john b good]

ummm can you tell the website

Why would you want to look at a sex scene where the party concerned did not give their permission ? It's bang out of order I think they should stick it to all those who seek to lure innocent men to Thailand with pictures of scantily clad women and the promise of wild sex

I think that that's a stupid statement.... If someone chooses to watch a bit of xxx stuff how are you supposed to know the party gave/did not give permission.

Edited July 24, 2009 by john b good

[john b good]

Thats good news for him. Why ruin this young mans life by throwing him inside? I love Thailand and I am pleased that they have chosen to recognize this mans potential and given him a second chance. Lets just hope he has the manpower to police his forum more stringently.

This kind of thing will kill off forums and any oportunity for ordinary people to make their views public without them being censored first - of course offensive mateiral should be taken down by the site manager whenever it is reported however if site managers are expectedt to police every post before it is published then the days of free forums like this are numbered. This isnt a gripe at Thailand - half the countries of the world are trying to introduce things like this either at the insistance of people who are paranoid about anything sexual, because governments dont like public criticism or because some big corporate business like sony are trying to get their civil rights enforced by criminal law. All these are going to add to the cost to us of the internet.

he should be shackled and never released till he get raped in jail many times . imagine what he is capable of paddling when he is fifty years old. he is probably well connected. that's why the ery light sentence. he is a genius though.

[liloldspirut]

Thats good news for him. Why ruin this young mans life by throwing him inside? I love Thailand and I am pleased that they have chosen to recognize this mans potential and given him a second chance. Lets just hope he has the manpower to police his forum more stringently.

This kind of thing will kill off forums and any oportunity for ordinary people to make their views public without them being censored first - of course offensive mateiral should be taken down by the site manager whenever it is reported however if site managers are expectedt to police every post before it is published then the days of free forums like this are numbered. This isnt a gripe at Thailand - half the countries of the world are trying to introduce things like this either at the insistance of people who are paranoid about anything sexual, because governments dont like public criticism or because some big corporate business like sony are trying to get their civil rights enforced by criminal law. All these are going to add to the cost to us of the internet.

Do you think this is what happened in IRAN in their last elections? Even if we do or so not have thick skin, governments want to stay in power and thus use Morality as part of the control Mallet/tool .

[Plus]

It is impossible to write a law that covers all aspects and details of posting stuff on the Internet. I think it's more reasonable to leave it to judges discretion.

The site owner kept someone's private pictures for two months despite objections. If it was a few hours in the middle of the night it would have been a different story. Use your discretion.

As for graffiti on a house - if someone hacked into your side and defaced it, you are not supposed be liable. Again, it's up to the police and the judge to decide if the site was really hacked by third parties.

As for registrations and terms of use - that's an agreement between the owners and the users, it's absolutely meaningless to the state.

[inmemorylsx]

This is shamefull, the person serving time should be the person who posted not the forum people...

Lets see, if I buy paper and a pen, then use those to write a book that breaks Thai law, is it me or the pen and paper manufactures that go to jail????

Also why stop at the forum owner? What about the owner of the ISP that allowed him to upload the images, the computer manufactor that built the computer he used, the camera company of the camera he used, and so on?

Cyberspace "crime" is still such a gray zone. This does sound quite harsh. I think it will be many years from now until fair laws regarding the internet are established.

As long as no one has money stolen (online banking etc), it seems quite difficult to determine charges in cases like this.

Ask him to take it down and learn a lesson... Interesting to see in the years to come what is legal and what is not.

I am confused right now to what you can and can not do/say on the net.

[minxwhale]

This is shamefull, the person serving time should be the person who posted not the forum people...

Lets see, if I buy paper and a pen, then use those to write a book that breaks Thai law, is it me or the pen and paper manufactures that go to jail????

Also why stop at the forum owner? What about the owner of the ISP that allowed him to upload the images, the computer manufactor that built the computer he used, the camera company of the camera he used, and so on?

You hit the nail on the head. That's why it's dangerous to run any business in this backward country

[stuck]

Thats good news for him. Why ruin this young mans life by throwing him inside? I love Thailand and I am pleased that they have chosen to recognize this mans potential and given him a second chance. Lets just hope he has the manpower to police his forum more stringently.

What?

Recognize potential?

Second Chance?

Pish posh.

They were paid off.

Please take off those rose-colored Thai glasses, they're messing with your vision.

[norwayeagle]

This is shamefull, the person serving time should be the person who posted not the forum people...

Lets see, if I buy paper and a pen, then use those to write a book that breaks Thai law, is it me or the pen and paper manufactures that go to jail????

Also why stop at the forum owner? What about the owner of the ISP that allowed him to upload the images, the computer manufactor that built the computer he used, the camera company of the camera he used, and so on?

This is the way it is,And more 2 come!

[sassienie]

Thats good news for him. Why ruin this young mans life by throwing him inside? I love Thailand and I am pleased that they have chosen to recognize this mans potential and given him a second chance. Lets just hope he has the manpower to police his forum more stringently.

This kind of thing will kill off forums and any oportunity for ordinary people to make their views public without them being censored first - of course offensive mateiral should be taken down by the site manager whenever it is reported however if site managers are expectedt to police every post before it is published then the days of free forums like this are numbered. This isnt a gripe at Thailand - half the countries of the world are trying to introduce things like this either at the insistance of people who are paranoid about anything sexual, because governments dont like public criticism or because some big corporate business like sony are trying to get their civil rights enforced by criminal law. All these are going to add to the cost to us of the internet.

Well state, my friend.

Best avatar yet, zzaa09.

But does this sweet innocent bouncy litle girl know that you have published her on the Internet?

A crime in the making, by no mistake

[humfurry]

This is all a bit dull.

[eggomaniac]

innocent men to Thailand

Edited July 24, 2009 by eggomaniac

[norwayeagle]

innocent men to Thailand

. . .

Guess why am lafing.

[wrecker]

Good to see it is not you George....after all the inappropriate comments on the red/vs yellow news in the news section

Oops ...

[infernalman7]

This law is seriously flawed. This country has taken many steps back from 1997. Too bad.

[norwayeagle]

This law is seriously flawed. This country has taken many steps back from 1997. Too bad.

I support this Country, Thailand, in getting rid of the white mans "Decease".And am not the only white man who thinks the same.( we are a minority,but we by all means is a ARE)

[sassienie]

I am a professional genealogist.

Have traced my family back to 1275AD and have thousands of individuals all related to me (pity them) in my files.

All details regarding births, marriages, deaths, professions, divorces etc, etc, are freely available at the UK, United States and Australian public records offices. It is not an offence to store these records on a personal computer hard drive, disk, book or file.

But for example, I discover that a Joe Blogs is my second cousin 4 times removed, then I publish information on my family tree web site that Joe has been married 17 times, has 29 illegitimate children, all the names of his ex wives, that his grand father was Rasputin the mad Monk and his sister served 20 years in prison for poisoning 8 customers in a restaurant that she owned because they tried to run off without paying the bill. All this information which I have obtained through public records and newspaper clippings with a little bit of research.

But although this data is available, I would be contravening privacy and data protection laws if I were to publish this in the public domain, because submitting sensitive material like this gives suggestions of criminal, immoral, bizarre or irresponsible behaviour of an individual. This can cause hurt and suffering to a person and their family members.

In the West for example, such as web sites exposing scammers that publish scammers photos, phone numbers, email addresses and details of the scam, is not considered derogatory unless it is proven to be untrue.

If it is considered that a person is committing misdeeds, it is permitted to publish these facts on the Internet which is considered beneficial as a warning to others. Aghain providing that this is not misinformation.

But in Thailand, I believe, it is considered a defamatory act just by publishing details of a Thai national on the web without consent, whether the details are factual or not.

And as regarding the theme of this thread, it is really about that some countries don’t like to air their dirty washing on the worldwide superhighway, meaning the Internet.

Over the years the Internet has increasing become more and more under the censorship of those who try to control us, such as Governments, police and authorities.

I cannot see any improvements and what we are permitted do on line will probably become more restrictive and logged in the foreseeable future.

So the message here is clear. ThaiVisa is a wonderful facility and members who should now have a better understanding of Thailand’s defamatory and publishing laws, to take into consideration what is restricted and what they post on the public domain, such as forums like this.

Remember big brother may be watching.

Edited July 24, 2009 by sassienie

[zzaa09]

Just woke up from a nightmare

Soon you will need a license to purchase a computer.

Within a 30d period you will be under consideration if you get granted Internet access or not!

Maybe off topic and... just a nightmare

Not at all. It's all related....control, supression, police state. Most don't have the ability to see it.

[cdnvic]

Good to see it is not you George....after all the inappropriate comments on the red/vs yellow news in the news section

Oops ...

Yes, I half expected the original post to include a plea from George to have someone drop him off some cigarettes.

[astor]

It's bad. The individual freedoms are increasingling threatened.

[shawndoc]

I think a better question to ask is, who did he piss off? Thailand has a LOT of laws on the books which are almost never enforced, and some which are next to impossible to comply with if you are doing business, even if you wanted to. What it ends up with though is a situation where if you tick off the wrong person, you will suddenly find these laws being enforced, only selectively on one person.

This is most often used by low level officials to earn some tea money, but can also be used by those in power to shut down or punish those that have angered them.

This situation isn't exclusive to Thailand, and those of us living in Western countries are by no means immune to it. However selective enforcement for person gain seems to be much more common in Thailand.

[infernalman7]

^^ One good thing though... laws can be bended